New York, I Love You

WATCH OF THE WEEK

MARKETING BUZZ

OUR OBSESSION

When Facebook-owned Instagram debuted their new polling feature in Instagram stories we knew it was only a matter of time before someone began letting their followers make decisions for them a lá the 2016 Emma Roberts, Dave Franco film, Nerve. Vice staffer Oobah Butler, whose other work for the platform also consists of him trying new and ridiculous things, did just that. At the start of his day, Butler posted right after waking that he would be letting his one thousand followers make all of his decisions for him. From “get up & shower” or “snooze” to what he would wear, where he should go, what he should eat and so on, Butler gave his followers complete control. The social media experiment goes to show the extent of the real-time feedback loop technology has created.

To show off the technology powering their latest car model, the all-electronic e-tron line, German automaker Audi created a branded escape room. Named after the car, the e- tron room – the world’s first technological escape room – is currently free with a reservation in Barcelona, Spain until the end of the month when it moves to Madrid. Rather than the keys, locks, and trap doors that players would find in a traditional escape room, this escape room features holograms, robotic arms, and interactive projections, offering them a first-hand look into Audi’s e-tron technology models. A simple yet sophisticated spin on the conventional escape room, Audi’s e-tron room is a prime example of the type of immersive, experiential marketing consumers are craving.

With all of the hate in the world, New York Magazine is reminding everyone that there’s lots of love as well. As part of their 50th Anniversary Issue titled, “My New York,” the publication launched their Love Map project, an online interactive map of the big apple complete with crowdsourced accounts of hookups, breakups, missed opportunities, and more pinned at the location where they took place. Visitors to the site can read short synopses about other people’s experiences in addition to adding their own. For instance, one New Yorker wrote about the time they found love on the Roosevelt Island Tram. Play around with it yourself to get a peek into the love lives of New Yorkers all over the city.

IN OUR CARTS

APP-TASTIC

PROPS TO

Yoga on the Fly

With 67% of people saying that airports are a stressful place and 73% of people viewing yoga as a stress reliever, Yoga on the Fly makes perfect sense! The yoga-and-meditation collective is the first private yoga studio available at an airport. Set to open on November 6th at Denver International Airport in Colorado, the founders hope to reverse the adverse effects of the stress associated with traveling on both bodies and minds by allowing people to get their “zen” on during layovers. Open daily, classes are not live, but rather held through custom videos that vary in duration and cost, anywhere from $15-$60 depending on length. Beneficial for all generations, travel and self-care obsessed Millennials are sure to love this integration as a mind, body, and soul pit stop along their journey.

Leading both Venmo and Zelle in the Apple App Store and Google Play, Cash by Square Cash, is a peer-to-peer payment platform that allows anyone to send and receive payments free and instantly. The app provides competitive offerings such as a physical debit card that allows users to utilize the money they’ve received from friends or family. Playing into users’ desire for customization, users can also design their cards with laser-etching and have it delivered to them in no time. The Cash app’s recent boom in popularity showcases that users are still willing to jump ship or at least try something new if given a desirable value proposition.

Tethys

Inspired by the water crisis in Flint, 11-year-old Colorado native Gitanjali Rao designed a device called Tethys that detects lead levels in water faster than any device on the market. Rao has been monitoring the crisis in Flint for about two years, as well as the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering website weekly to see if there were any new technologies that could detect hazardous substances in water. With careful planning and help from her parents, teachers, and local university experts, Rao developed her design and collected the $25,000 grand-prize at the 2017 Discovery 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Already named “America’s Top Young Scientist,” we can’t wait to see what other endeavors she blows out of the water!